Divine Move

Noah sighs heavily, runs a hand over his tired face. He can’t believe this is happening – again – even as he says, “Never tell Stiles, but the specialist I saw in L.A. said the same thing every doctor says when he’s trying to avoid a law suit;” He rolls his eyes, “’We can’t say for sure.’”

Derek simply listens for the moment. Mainly, because he still can’t wrap his head around the fact that Stiles – his Stiles is probably going to die very soon. And if it’s not that asshole nogitsune that kills her first, now it will be her own body and mind. Derek cannot bare thinking about how choked up Scott was when he came and told him, nor how close to losing his own shit he really was.

However, Noah seems to look a little less heavy hearted than he has looked for the passed 73 hours as he goes onto say, “But then I called Melissa. And bless the woman for stealing these records for me.” He reaches under his desk and pulls out two scans from the drawer. “Brain scans. My wife’s and Stiles'.”

Derek nods, not knowing where he’s going with this, but knowing he’s going somewhere. And if Stiles’ life didn’t potentially hang in the balance of this entirely fucked up situation, he'd probably laugh at the irony of the Sheriff of Beacon Hills advocating theft.

“Now, I knew they were similar, the moment I first laid eyes on Stiles’ scan. But these two,” Noah says, brows raised as he points a thumb to both the scans. “Are exactly the same.”

Finally, Derek asks, “Judging by your expression, I’m guessing that isn’t possible?”

Noah nods as he replies, “Not even a little.”

“So, the trickster is still playing his tricks.” Derek says, and he really can’t help the little sigh of relief and secretly thanks the Sheriff for not questioning it either.

Noah nods, he, too, looking beyond relieved.

Derek frowns, asks to nobody in particular, more ponders, “But why this trick?”

Noah looks thoughtful as he says, “Back when I was in the Army, an officer told me, ‘If you wanna defeat your enemy, it’s not their courage you take from them, it’s their hope.’”

Derek arches a brow as he says, “You don’t look like a man who gives up hope easily.”

“No.” Noah shakes his head – not when his baby girl is still breathing, he doesn’t. “But Stiles might.”

Derek nods in acknowledgment, even when he doesn’t want to believe it. But he knows how selfless Stiles is and he knows that hurting the people she loves most because of this evil bastard is silently killing her, too.

Noah goes on, slight conviction is his voice. “If this, thing, is inside of her, possessing her or whatever, and if it’s using her mother’s disease against her as some sick psychological trick, then this isn’t just a fight for her body, it’s also a fight for her mind, right?”

+++

Later on, when half of the “Calvary” – as Chris calls it – is rounded up, they talk shop with the Sheriff in toe and there’s still no sign of Stiles.

“So what do we do? Wait her to come us?” Noah asks, he glances between Derek and Chris, but it’s Allison who answers –

“Not if the Oni find her by sunset. Scott and Kira are working on that as we speak.”

“But that’s the problem; we're all trying outfox a fox.” Chris says.

“Listen,” Noah knows that this is mainly his fight, because that evil bastard has taken over his daughter's body like some fucking play thing for him to use to torture others and, “I’ll understand if anyone here wants to back out right now. But this is my daughter, my only flesh and I need you all to know that I’ll do anything to get her back.”

Derek's first to reply, because his feelings are pretty much the damn same on the matter, and because, “I’m not gonna be the first wolf to run from a fox.”

Noah smirks, clearly pleased with that response.

+++

After even more chaos and a load more deaths, they meet up again, this time at the Stilinski household and Noah immediately leads them up to Stiles’ bedroom.

“What is all this?” Chris asks as he stares around the teen's room in wonder and slight awe.

“What are the sticky notes for?” Allison asks.

“They’re how Stiles explained all of you to me.” Noah replies simply.

Allison nods. “Cool. Maybe there’s a message from Stiles in here somewhere. The real Stiles.”

Derek frowns upon seeing the board game. “Think there’s any particular reason my name’s on the King?”

“Well, you’re heavily guarded.” Noah states as he walks over to the board. “But I guess the alarming detail is that you’re one move away from being in checkmate.” He adds with slightly widened and worried eyes.

“It's not a message from Stiles.” Chris says when it finally clicks. He adds through gritted teeth, “It's a threat from the Nogitsune. He’s at the loft. Stiles is at the loft. That’s what he’s trying to tell us.”

“And he wants us to go there.” Derek adds with a deadpan look. Because of course this is a bad idea.

“Night's falling.” Allison says as she checks her phone.

“This couldn’t sound any more like a trap.” Noah says and even in this shitty situation, Derek can’t help fighting back a smirk at how he couldn’t sound any more like Stiles herself.

“I don’t think it is.” Chris says. “I think your opinion might be slightly biased, Sheriff.” He smirks when Noah arches a brow, looking very doubtful. “Hear me out.”

Noah rolls his eyes, but nods all the same.

“We're basically dealing with a spirit who lacks complete motive. No rhyme, no reason, right?”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning our enemy is not a killer. It’s a trickster. The killing is just a byproduct. A bonus.” Chris explains, like it’s the most simple thing in the world.

Noah scoffs lightly as he says, “If you’re trying to say that this thing isn’t gonna kill us, then I’m not really with you on that one.”

“It won’t.” Chris says, and looks mostly confident as he goes onto say, “It wants the irony. It wants the trick; to win the game; it wants the joke. That’s why it hasn’t actually tried to kill any of Stiles’ friends or you.”

“No, just all of the other innocent people around us.” Derek cuts in.

Chris nods and says, “All we need to do is come up with our own punchline.”

+++

“Hi, daddy.”

Derek’s heart is beating a million miles an hour and he can only imagine what the Sheriff is feeling right now.

Stiles is surrounded by her friends, only they’re all armed and have their weapons pointed at her, but the nogitsune has her now. And he really doesn’t look all that bothered through Stiles’ rather expressive features.

Allison stands beside her father, along with Scott and Kira, all behind the Sheriff and Derek, who is a little off to the side, just in case, for Noah's sake.

Void Stiles smirks, bright amber eyes filled with amusement. “You wanna handcuff me?” It says, uses Stiles tongue to rub it in even more, to hurt her father as much as possible by reminding him at every turn.

Noah takes a step forward with the handcuffs in his grasp, while Scott and Derek look on with unease. “If my daughter is still in there, if there’s still even the tiniest part of her inside there, then she would put these on willingly, because she would know that I’m here to protect her from others and from herself.”

Stiles glances briefly to her friends before staring back at her father. And deep down, Nogitsune is impressed with this human, this Sheriff, because even it can’t fool him. However, he puts it down to strong bonds with offspring, the only thing to trump true love in it's experience.

Noah takes a step back and shakes his head as he grits out the words, “You are not my daughter.”

Void Stiles smirks widely, as if giving up, but then all Hell breaks loose in the next few moments when it grabs the Sheriff and tosses him carelessly aside and it almost laughs aloud when it feels her, Stiles trying to fight it, trying to fight him.

Derek and Scott attack as one, growling loudly and swiping their claws at the Nogitsune.

The Nogitsune grabs the True Alpha by the throat and sends a harsh kick to his chest, sending him sailing back and skidding along the floor of the loft, knocking both hunters off of their feet in one swift movement.

Derek grabs her throat, and it laughs right in his face at the pathetic attempt, because it knows the wolf is holding back, knows that this wolf is in love with this body; this Stiles.

Void Stiles slaps his hand away and grabs the back of his neck with ease, the other hand sliding up the wolf's arm and pulling until bones in his shoulder finally crack.

Derek howls out in pain before he, too, is tossed across his own loft and goes crashing into one of the concrete pillars, smashing the fuck out of it in the process.

Kira looks like a deer caught in the headlights, even armed with her katana, but thankfully, it’s Allison that comes to the rescue with a taser. However, Void Stiles merely grabs the ends of the tags, and Allison's eyes widen in terror when she sees that the electricity is completely ineffective.

Void Stiles snaps the tags and grits her teeth in annoyance as she glares at the young hunter.

This time, Chris steps in with his handgun before the wolves can take round two or the evil bastard takes his daughter from him, too.

“No! Hey!” Noah dives in front of his daughter, not caring if she chooses to kill him in that moment. “Argent, do not do this!” He yells as he pulls out his own gun and aims it at the other man.

“Dad!” Allison looks at him in horror, shaking her head.

“Why not?” Chris says, ignoring his daughter's painful look. “I’ve done it before.” He says, but his voice is quivering, because of course he doesn’t want to fucking shoot Stiles. “Werewolves, wendigos, beserkers – it's all the same. And I can easily add nogitsune to the list.”

“You are not going to shoot my daughter.”

“Will you wake up!?” Chris snaps. “You said it yourself, Sheriff; this thing is not your daughter!”

Derek and Scott both step forward, pulling the hunter back, but it’s Stiles who steps forward.

“Do it.” Nogitsune shoots the briefest smirk, for only the hunter to see and then swirls around with little to no dramatic effect and, “Dad?”

Noah gulps, not knowing what the fuck to think even as Chris says, “Don’t listen to it. It’s a trickster.”

“Dad, he’s gonna shoot me.”

Noah blinks, because fuck, it’s like she’s right there, so fucking close and yet so fucking far away.

“Dad, he’s gonna kill me.”

“Stop.” Noah whispers and finally, it seems that Stiles has actually broken through for a brief moment.

“Dad?” Stiles’ eyes widen as she feels it already taking over again and quickly turns back to face the hunter, knowing that her father could never do what really needs to be done. “Shoot me!”

And ironically, Chris finally breaks and lowers his gun with a shake of his head when he sees the pain of struggle in her eyes.

“SHOOT ME!” Stiles screams, but this time the walls shake and they know it’s no longer really her. “Pull the trigger. Go on. I mean, it’s easier for you, if I’m like this, right? So, just do it. You’re a hunter. Add Nogitsune to your little list.” It says, that same sadistic smirk plastered back on Stiles' chalky pink lips.

“Stop!” Allison yells. “It wants us to fight. It feeds off of chaos and strife, remember?”

Scott nods, glares at the evil fuck taking a hold of his best friend. “This is exactly what it wants.”

“Well, not exactly.” Void Stiles only looks mildly disappointed as she says, “I was kinda hoping Lydia would join us. Y'know, just for old time sakes.” She shrugs as she casually walks between them. “But I’m glad you all have your guns out. Because you’re not here to kill me.” She walks behind the two wolves, mainly because she knows they’re her best bet. “You’re here to protect me.”

And as if on cue, that’s when Hell really does break loose...